Lawn care tasks are commonly performed using various tools and/or machines that are configured for the performance of corresponding specific tasks. Certain tasks, like grass cutting, are typically performed by lawn mowers. Lawn mowers themselves may have many different configurations to support the needs and budgets of consumers. Walk-behind lawn mowers are typically compact, have comparatively small engines, and are relatively inexpensive. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, riding lawn mowers, such as lawn tractors, can be quite large. Riding lawn mowers can sometimes also be configured with various functional accessories (e.g., trailers, tillers, and/or the like) in addition to grass cutting components. Riding lawn mowers provide the convenience of a riding vehicle as well as a typically larger cutting deck as compared to a walk-behind model.
Although lawn mowing devices and other outdoor power equipment can sometimes be made to be fairly simple in their design, it is possible to make longer lasting, safer, and better performing devices by monitoring and/or optimizing certain parameters. To monitor such parameters, a sensor network may be employed. A typical sensor network includes a plurality of sensors that are distributed throughout the device to monitor specific conditions, status information, or parametric data. Some sensors may be connected to corresponding switches that may operate to provide certain protective or performance enhancing functions. The sensors and switches receive power and communicate with each other via a wiring harness. The wiring harness creates a network by providing wired connection between all components for which networking is desired.
The use of a wiring harness provides additional cost associated with running wires throughout the device. The wiring harness can also create design challenges since each sensor and switch must be connected, so a route for wired connection must be considered by engineers. This can be a challenge for some remotely located sensors. Additionally, each sensor and switch combination has power requirements. Accordingly, the sensors can provide additional battery drain that may limit the life and performance capabilities of certain battery powered equipment.